The Baghdad Post

Iraqi lawmaker calls for disclosing US bases deal to public

Nasr Alliance MP Nada Shakir called on the government of Adil Abd al-Mahdi to disclose the terms of the strategic agreement with the United States, to settle the dispute over the deployment of US forces in Iraq.

US forces have been reinstated in the country during the reign of former PM Haidar Abadi, in order to provide the Iraqi security forces with the necessary military training and assist in their war against ISIS, Shakir said, adding that there is no need for the US troops currently, as the security situation in under control.

The top Pentagon official, who visited the country secretly on Tuesday, assured Iraqi leaders that the US will stick to its limited military role in Iraq, a message aimed at recent talk by some Iraqi politicians of forcing a US troop withdrawal.

Pat Shanahan, the acting secretary of defense, said that in talks with Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, he stressed US respect for Iraqi sovereignty, an issue that has become a hot-button topic among Iraqis since President Donald Trump suggested using Iraq as a base for monitoring neighboring Iran and for potential attacks against remaining elements of ISIS in Syria. Source